Job Opportunities

The Tata Institute for Genetics and Society – India (TIGS-India), located at inStem, within the campus of the National Center for Biological Sciences (NCBS), in Bangalore, India is seeking applications from outstanding candidates for the following positions, which are initially five-year inaugural terms. Incumbents will work in Bangalore at TIGS-India.

Job Opening CSO-001 (all applicants must list this number in their application to be considered)

Chief Scientific Officer at TIGS CSO-001 – Open until filled. Screening of applications will begin on June 20, 2018

Reporting to the Global Director of TIGS, the Chief Scientific Officer will be responsible for leading and shaping the future directions of TIGS-India, focusing both on the mechanisms and the applications of next generation biotechnologies (such as gene editing, next generation sequencing and gene drives) to correct disease, improve agriculture and benefit humanity, particularly in the context of the Indian subcontinent.

The successful candidate should have a Ph.D., or equivalent, with 15-20 years (post Ph.D.) of academia/industry experience, as well as visionary administrative leadership in a relevant field. Individuals transitioning from academia would preferably hold the rank of a full Professor in their current position in an internationally reputed university or research institute. Candidates could pursue their own related research interests and grant funding but must be willing to spend at least 60% of their effort devoted to the mission of TIGS. Additional requirements include an outstanding track record of independence and leadership, peer-reviewed publications in high impact journals, excellent communication skills, as well as evidence of independent grant support, project implementation as a scientific leader and successful mentoring of doctoral and post-doctoral students.

Job Opening GL-001(all applicants must list this number in their application to be considered)

Group Leader in Mosquito and Fly Biology at TIGS GL-001 – Open until filled. Screening of applications will begin on June 20, 2018

Reporting to the Chief Scientific Officer, the Mosquito and Fly Biology Group Leader will supervise Team Leaders in the areas of mosquito population genetics, mosquito ecology, parasite challenge, insect transgenesis and fruit fly biology for proof-of-concept testing. The teams will work together to build and test new gene-drive constructs containing anti-parasite effectors, generate transgenic gene-drive mosquitoes, and test effectors and transgenic mosquitoes in parasite challenge assays. The Mosquito and Fly Biology Group Leader will also work closely with the Field Trials Group Leader, advertised separately, to integrate mosquito biology and field test goals.

The successful candidate should have a Ph.D., or equivalent, with 12+ years (post Ph.D.) of academia/industry experience in a relevant field (e.g. population genetics and behavior in insect vectors, mechanisms of insecticide resistance, insect vector defense mechanisms). Individuals transitioning from academia would preferably hold the rank of an Associate or full Professor in their current position in an internationally reputed university or research institute. Candidates could pursue their own related research interests and grant funding, but must be willing to spend at least 65% time devoted to the mission of TIGS. Additional requirements include an outstanding track record of independence and leadership, peer-reviewed publications in high impact journals, excellent communication skills, as well as evidence of independent grant support, project implementation as a group leader and successful mentoring of doctoral and post-doctoral students.

Job OpeningGL- 003 – (all applicants must list this number in their application to be considered)

Group Leader in Active Genetics at TIGS GL-003 – Open until filled. Screening of applications will begin on June 20, 2018

Reporting to the Chief Scientific Officer, the Active Genetics Group Leader will supervise Team Leaders in extending the impact of Active Genetics applications beyond applications to vector-borne diseases. Such applications include aggregation of beneficial traits in crops to improve agriculture, enhancing existing and enabling new cancer cell therapies, and combatting microbial infections by reducing antibiotic resistance or altering the microbiome environment to stabilize healthy microflora.

The successful candidate should have a Ph.D., or equivalent, with 12+ years (post Ph.D.) of academia/industry experience in a relevant field (e.g. gene drives and applications of Active Genetics in plants and mammals, applications of gene editing to reverse inherited genetic defects in stem cell populations, synthetic biology, DNA repair/recombination mechanisms in cancer). Individuals transitioning from academia would preferably hold the rank of an Associate or full Professor in their current position in an internationally reputed university or research institute. Candidates could pursue their own related research interests and grant funding, but must be willing to spend at least 65% time devoted to the mission of TIGS. Additional requirements include an outstanding track record of independence and leadership, peer-reviewed publications in high impact journals, excellent communication skills, as well as evidence of independent grant support, project implementation as a group leader and successful mentoring of doctoral and post-doctoral students.

Job OpeningGL-005(all applicants must list this number in their application to be considered)

Group Leader in Molecular Biology and Genomics at TIGS GL-005 – Open until filled. Screening of applications will begin on June 20, 2018

Reporting to the Chief Scientific Officer, the candidate is expected to be well-versed in all aspects, techniques and methods of modern molecular biology and have a successful track record of seeking mechanistic insights into any important biological process. Examples of methods include cloning, Gateway technology, Gibson assembly, library construction, facile assembly of complex constructs including codon optimization, familiarity with various vectors and expression systems, synthetic biology, mutagenesis, CRISPR/Cas9 applications, as well as diverse protein expression and purification systems. The candidate will oversee team leaders in Genomics/informatics and protein expression. The candidate will support research efforts in multiple areas such as vector-borne diseases, plant biology, microbiology and work with mammalian cell systems.

The successful candidate should have a Ph.D., or equivalent, with 12+ years (post Ph.D.) of academia/industry experience in a relevant field (e.g. mechanisms and diseases associated with DNA repair/recombination, applications of gene editing and next generation sequencing, mechanisms of antibiotic resistance). Individuals transitioning from academia would preferably hold the rank of an Associate or full Professor in their current position in an internationally reputed university or research institute. Candidates could pursue their own related research interests and grant funding, but must be willing to spend at least 65% time devoted to the mission of TIGS. Additional requirements include an outstanding track record of independence and leadership, peer-reviewed publications in high impact journals, excellent communication skills, as well as evidence of independent grant support, project implementation as a group leader and successful mentoring of doctoral and post-doctoral students.

For consideration of your application for any of the above job openings, please provide the following documents – (a) a two-page statement of purpose explaining the salient aspects of your background that are relevant to the position; (b) your curriculum vitae with a list of peer-reviewed publications, and names and contact details for at least 3 references; (c) leadership qualifications; (d) previous grant support as the principal or co-principal investigator and (e) a list of students mentored. Please send the materials, with a clear reference to the job number listed above, to the following email address: jobs-tigs@instem.res.in

Applications submitted before June 20, 2018 will be screened first.

Institute Aims

1. Vector borne diseases

Building and testing the efficacy and fitness of next generation gene-drive constructs in mosquitoes and possibly other insects in pilot experiments

Contribute to identification, characterization of test sites for field trials and mitigation